MAPUTO, Dec 18, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The death toll from Cyclone Chido in
Mozambique has risen by 11 to 45, the National Institute of Risk and Disaster
Management announced Wednesday.

Initial figures released on Tuesday said the cyclone had claimed 34 lives
after making landfall in Mozambique on Sunday at the northern Cabo Delgado
province.

In its updated toll, the centre said 38 people were killed in Cabo Delgado,
four in Nampula province and three in Niassa, further inland. One person was
missing, it said.

Nearly 500 people were reported injured by the cyclone, which brought winds
of around 260 kilometres (160 miles) an hour and heavy rainfall of around 250
millimetres (10 inches) in 24 hours, the centre said.

Nearly 24,000 homes were destroyed and another 12,300 partially destroyed, it
said. More than 181,000 people affected by the storm.

Chido struck a part of northern Mozambique that is regularly battered by
cyclones and is already vulnerable because of conflict and underdevelopment.

The cyclone landed in Mozambique after hitting the Indian Ocean island of
Mayotte, where it is feared to have killed hundreds and possibly even
thousands of people.